Soft Condensed Matter

The course is normally given every other year, and will be given in the autumn of 2027.

The physics of soft matter involves matter that is easily deformable by external fields such as applied stresses or mechanical confinement, by electric or magnetic fields, or simply by thermal fluctuations,

The "level of description" for soft and complex materials (in this context, "material" is a sub-area of the more general term "matter") typically starts at the nano scale, i.e. at scales much larger than atomic or molecular scales, and the structure and dynamics at the nano scale determine macroscopic physical properties at the human or geological scale.

Soft matter science also includes so-called active matter, which involves cooperative flocking or swarming of "active particles", that can be entities (individuals) "living" at the nano-scale (e.g. virus), at the micro-scale (e.g. bacteria), or at the macro-scale (e.g. birds or fish). One overall goal of research into the growing field of soft matter science is thus to probe and understand the relationship between individual scale and cooperative scale physics.

Materials under study include both natural, synthetic and biological materials, and the broad range of research interests range from fundamental physics to technological applications, from basic materials questions to problems related to energy technology cosmetics, household products, agriculture, food, design of nano-structured materials or surfaces, biological systems and materials, etc.

Themes of focus in the course are decided before semester start and depends on for example the scientific areas of interest for participating students, and which international experts are available for guest lectures one given semester.

The following general and popularized literature may be recommended as background:

0) wikipedia

1) www.softcomlab.com

2) http://soft-matter.seas.harvard.edu/index.php/What_is_soft_matter

The student is expected to obtain a theoretical understanding of the physics of soft and complex condensed matter, from nanoparticles and interactions on the nanoscale to soft materials dynamics and stability on the macro scale. Further, obtain a theoretical and partly practical insight into parts of some experimental techniques that are relevant for studies of soft material physics, such as microscopy, scattering techniques (light, X-ray, neutron), rheometry, microfluidics, nanofluidics and "special purpose table-top" experiments. Numerical examples are part of the course.

Guided self study, lectures given by the course professors and by invited international experts, colloquia given by students, groupwork that can be laboratory based.

In certain semesters a remote PhD School such as the Geilo PhD Schools may be part of the lectures.